Method to efficiently transfer support and system logs from air-gapped vault systems to replication data sources by re-utilizing the existing replication streams

ABSTRACT

One example method includes, at a replication data source, initiating a replication process that includes transmitting a replication stream to a replication destination vault, and data in the replication stream is transmitted by way of a closed airgap between the replication data source and the replication destination vault, switching, by the replication data source, from a transmit mode to a receive mode, receiving, at the replication data source, a first checksum of a file, and the first checksum and file were created at the replication destination vault, receiving, at the replication data source, the file, calculating, at the replication data source, a second checksum of the file, and when the second checksum matches the first checksum, ending the replication process.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to communicationswith air-gapped vault systems. More particularly, at least someembodiments of the invention relate to systems, hardware, software,computer-readable media, and methods for transferring support and systemlogs from air-gapped vault systems to replication data sources byre-utilizing the existing replication streams.

BACKGROUND

Ransomware and cyber-attacks have become very common today with lots ofdatacenters and customer IT infrastructure and backup infrastructuregetting attacked and wiped out completely, leaving nothing to restore.This has led to the evolution of different protection mechanisms tocounter these attacks, such as cyber recovery solutions, and ransomwareprotection solutions. Most of these solutions utilize technologies suchas replication, retention locking and air-gapped vault backup servers tostore additional locked data, not easily accessible to outside world.

One such example is Dell Cyber Recovery Solution (CRS), where data froma primary backup server is frequently replicated to a different vaultbackup server. This vault is air-gapped, and the airgap may close onlywhen replication happens, thereby protecting the vault from any otheroutside access. Also, in the vault, the replicated data may be retentionlocked for a certain duration to prevent it from corruption ordestruction in case attackers gain access to the vault. In suchapproaches, the air gap closes periodically only for replication hereand data flows from source to destination vault system and then theair-gap opens again.

While air-gapped vaults and associated systems have proven effective inlimiting unauthorized access to data contained in the vault, theinherent nature of such vaults has given rise to various problems. Forexample, while the air-gapped vault systems cannot be accessed from theoutside world, it is also the case that the vault system cannot, due tothe air gap which provides security from attackers, send any kind ofdata to the outside world. For example, the vault is unable to send datasuch as support logs, support bundles, diagnostic logs, health monitorlogs, to the outside world, that is, entities outside of the vault. Forbetter, and for worse, the vault is practically cut off from the outsideworld.

To illustrate, many applications have a facility where the applicationsregularly upload relevant logs and reports, such as Dell DataDomainAutosupport (ASUP) reports, to the home servers, such as Nagios orKibana dashboards, for health checks and other analysis. However, it isnot possible to upload to vault systems because the vault systems arenot allowed, and not able, to communicate with the home servers. Assuch, it may be very difficult to monitor and analyze the air-gappedvault systems in a detailed manner and on a regular basis.

In more detail, when a primary system wants to replicate data to avault, the airgap separating the primary system from the vault closesonly for the replication protocol/streams to replicate the data. Oncethe data is replicated from the primary system to the vault, the airgapopens and the vault is again completely cut off from the primary systemand other external systems. When the air-gap is closed for replication,it is only for a particular port, and only the replication data can passthrough the air-gap. Further, while the airgap is temporarily closed forreplication, no other process can send, or receive, any data through theairgap in any direction.

Instead, the only way to send the logs and reports back from the vaultto a primary system would be to allow a new process in the destinationvault to pass through the airgap and send the logs and reports from thevault to the source system, home servers, or other entities outside thevault. However, such an approach is not desirable, at least because itwould introduce a serious vulnerability in the airgap which can beexploited by attackers to enter into the vault and destroy, steal, orcorrupt, the data in the vault.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which at least some of the advantagesand features of the invention may be obtained, a more particulardescription of embodiments of the invention will be rendered byreference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in theappended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typicalembodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered tobe limiting of its scope, embodiments of the invention will be describedand explained with additional specificity and detail through the use ofthe accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 discloses aspects of an example operating environment for someembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 discloses aspects of an example method according to someembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 discloses aspects of an example computing entity operable toperform any of the claimed methods, processes, and operations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to communicationswith air-gapped vault systems. More particularly, at least someembodiments of the invention relate to systems, hardware, software,computer-readable media, and methods for transferring support and systemlogs from air-gapped vault systems to replication data sources byre-utilizing the existing data streams between the vault and anothersystem, such as a replication stream transmitted to the vault by areplication system. In some embodiments, data may be transmitted, withina replication process, by the vault to a replication data source.

In general, example embodiments of the invention may provide anefficient method to transfer the system related or diagnostic logsand/or other important system related logs or files of the vault system,which may be a replication destination, to the source system withoutviolating the airgap restrictions.

In more detail, a data replication process from a source to adestination such as a vault may operate in different phases such as, forexample, initiation of the replication process, determination of whatdata will be replicated, transmission of the data from the source to thedestination, and completion of the replication process. For datareplication in an airgap environment, that is, where an airgap isprovided between the source and the destination, the last operation atthe destination system is that once the destination system detects thatreplication is complete, the destination system may close thereplication port, and then reestablish the airgap between thedestination system and the source system.

Such a replication process and replication framework may, in exampleembodiments, include various other phases as well. Particularly, someexample embodiments may include a Pickup-Send-Phase that may be executedin the destination system, after all the data is transferred from thesource to the destination vault system. Example embodiments may furtherprovide a Pickup-Receive-Phase that may be executed in the replicationsystem after the replication system has sent all the data to thedestination vault system. Generally, the Pickup-Send-Phase andPickup-Receive phase may enable use of the existing replication streamto piggyback logs, reports, and other data, from the destination back tothe source. In this way, the data transfer from the destination to thesource may be implemented only via an allowed port, and within thereplication process itself.

Embodiments of the invention, such as the examples disclosed herein, maybe beneficial in a variety of respects. For example, and as will beapparent from the present disclosure, one or more embodiments of theinvention may provide one or more advantageous and unexpected effects,in any combination, some examples of which are set forth below. Itshould be noted that such effects are neither intended, nor should beconstrued, to limit the scope of the claimed invention in any way. Itshould further be noted that nothing herein should be construed asconstituting an essential or indispensable element of any invention orembodiment. Rather, various aspects of the disclosed embodiments may becombined in a variety of ways so as to define yet further embodiments.Such further embodiments are considered as being within the scope ofthis disclosure. As well, none of the embodiments embraced within thescope of this disclosure should be construed as resolving, or beinglimited to the resolution of, any particular problem(s). Nor should anysuch embodiments be construed to implement, or be limited toimplementation of, any particular technical effect(s) or solution(s).Finally, it is not required that any embodiment implement any of theadvantageous and unexpected effects disclosed herein.

In particular, one advantageous aspect of at least some embodiments ofthe invention is that a destination vault may be able to communicateinformation to a source system without compromising the security of thevault and without violating airgap requirements. An embodiment may beable to communicate information from a vault system to a source withoutimplementing a new communication process between the vault and thesource. An embodiment may enable monitoring of a vault withoutcompromising the security of the vault. An embodiment may preventtampering with logs and other information as they are sent from thevault to the source. An embodiment may enable use of a replicationstream to send information from a vault to a source. Various otheradvantages of example embodiments will be apparent from the disclosure.

It is noted that embodiments of the invention, whether claimed or not,cannot be performed, practically or otherwise, in the mind of a human.Accordingly, nothing herein should be construed as teaching orsuggesting that any aspect of any embodiment of the invention could orwould be performed, practically or otherwise, in the mind of a human.Further, and unless explicitly indicated otherwise herein, the disclosedmethods, processes, and operations, are contemplated as beingimplemented by computing systems that may comprise hardware and/orsoftware. That is, such methods processes, and operations, are definedas being computer-implemented.

A. Aspects of An Example Architecture and Environment

The following is a discussion of aspects of example operatingenvironments for various embodiments of the invention. This discussionis not intended to limit the scope of the invention, or theapplicability of the embodiments, in any way.

In general, embodiments of the invention may be implemented inconnection with systems, software, and components, that individuallyand/or collectively implement, and/or cause the implementation of,operations in which data is transmitted between/among two or moreentities. Such operations may include, but are not limited to, datareplication operations. One of the entities may be air gapped such thatwhen the airgap is established, that entity is not able to communicatewith any other external entity. Data communicated between the entitiesmay include, but is not limited to, files, logs, and reports.

The scope of the invention is not limited to any particular types ofdata communicated between entities. Thus, as used herein, the term‘data’ is intended to be broad in scope. Thus, that term embraces, byway of example and not limitation, data segments such as may be producedby data stream segmentation processes, data chunks, data blocks, atomicdata, emails, objects of any type, files of any type including mediafiles, word processing files, spreadsheet files, and database files, aswell as contacts, directories, sub-directories, volumes, and any groupof one or more of the foregoing.

Example embodiments of the invention are applicable to any systemcapable of storing and handling various types of objects, in analog,digital, or other form. Although terms such as document, file, segment,block, or object may be used by way of example, the principles of thedisclosure are not limited to any particular form of representing andstoring data or other information. Rather, such principles are equallyapplicable to any object capable of representing information.

With particular attention now to FIG. 1 , one example of an operatingenvironment for embodiments of the invention is denoted generally at100. In general, the operating environment 100. The operatingenvironment 100 may include one or more sources 102. In general, asource 102 may comprise any entity, comprising hardware and/or software,that is able to transmit a data stream, such as a replication stream forexample, to one or more other entities. In some instances, the source102 may replicate data 102 a residing at the source 102, to anotherentity. Thus, a source 102 may include a replication application 102 bto create and transmit replication datasets. Finally, the data 102 amay, or may not, be created/modified at the source 102.

The example operating environment 100 may also include a destinationsystem, such as a vault 104, comprising hardware and/or software, thatis configured for selective communication with the source 102. The vault104 may be a standalone entity, or may be an element of a larger system.The vault 104 may include information, which may or may not be generatedby the vault 104, that is to be transmitted to the source 102. Suchinformation may include, but is not limited to, logs 104 a.

As further indicated in the example of FIG. 1 an airgap interface 106may be provided that, except during certain processes when the airgapinterface 106 is temporarily closed, prevents the vault 104 fromcommunicating with any other external entity, including the source 102.An airgap may be referred to herein as being ‘open’ or in an ‘open’state, meaning that an airgap has been established between two entitiessuch that the entities are not able to communicate with each other. Aswell, an airgap may referred to herein as being ‘closed’ or in a‘closed’ state, meaning that the airgap between two entities has beendisestablished, or closed, such that the two entities are able tocommunicate with each other.

The airgap interface 106 may be physical and/or virtual. For example, insome embodiments, the vault 104 must be physically connected to thesource 102 in order for the source 102 to communicate with the vault104. In other embodiments, the vault 104 may employ asoftware-implemented airgap interface 106 that isolates the vault 104from any communication with external entities, except in specifiedcircumstances.

In at least some embodiments, the source 102 and the vault 104 maycommunicate bi-directionally with each other by way of the airgapinterface 106 when an airgap of the airgap interface 106 is closed. Forexample, the source 102 may transmit a data stream to the vault 104 byway of the airgap interface 106 when the airgap is closed, and the vault104 may transmit data to the source 102 by way of the airgap interface106 when the airgap is closed. No communication between the source 102and the vault 104 is possible when the airgap of the airgap interface106 is open.

In some embodiments, the default state of the airgap of the airgapinterface 106 is ‘open.’ That is, in the ‘open’ default state of theairgap, no communication is possible between the vault 104 and thesource 102.

B. Aspects of Some Example Embodiments B.1 Background

As noted, example embodiments may be employed in connection with datareplication processes, although that is not necessarily required. Ingeneral, a replication process may work in different phases including:‘Initiate the Repl process’; ‘Figure out what data to send’; ‘Send thedata’; and ‘complete the Repl process.’ For example, one possibleprocess flow may be: (i) Start Replication Process; (ii) Send Seg Refs;(iii) Receive list of unique Refs; and (iv) Send the unique segments(data); (v) repeat process until all unique segments are sent to dest;and (vi) Complete Repl process. For data replication in an air-gappedenvironment, the last operation in the destination system may be thatonce the destination system detects that data replication is complete,the destination system may close the ‘Repl Port’ and reestablish theairgap.

B.2 Pickup-Send-Phase and Pickup-Receive-Phase

With reference now to FIG. 2 , and with continuing reference to FIG. 1 ,example embodiments embrace, among other things, a data replicationframework that includes a Pickup-Send-Phase (PSP) and aPickup-Receive-Phase (PRP). In general, the Pickup-Send-Phase may beexecuted in a replication destination vault (RDV) 200, one example ofwhich is the vault 104 for example (FIG. 1 ), after all the data hasbeen transferred from the source to the destination vault system. ThePickup-Receive-Phase may be executed in a replication data source (RDS)250, such as the source 102 for example (FIG. 1 ), after the RDS 250 hassent all the replication data to the RDV 200. Note that in someembodiments, PSP may be employed only for replication destinationsystems that are air-gapped vaults. The replication destination systemimplementation may have an identification property, such as a flag forexample, indicating whether or not it is a vault. As further indicatedin the example of FIG. 2 , the RDV 200 and the RDS 250 may be separatedby an airgap interface 275 that includes or defines an airgap that maybe selectively closed and opened by the RDS 250 and/or by the RDV 200.In some embodiments, only the RDV 200 is able to close, and open, theairgap of the airgap interface 275.

As shown in FIG. 2 , an airgap of the airgap interface 275 may initiallybe open at the instantiation of the method 300. That is, an airgap mayexist between the RDV 200 and the RDS 250 such that communicationbetween those two entities is prevented.

The method 300 may begin at 302 when the RDS 250 starts replication ofdata to the RDV 200. At about the same time, the RDV 200 may close theairgap 304 so as to enable communication between the RDV 200 and the RSS200. Since the RDV 200 and RDS 250 are unable to communicate when theairgap is open, the RDV 200 and the RDS 250 may have respectivesynchronized clocks, or other devices, so that the RDV 200 knows when toclose the airgap. When the airgap is closed, the RDV 200 may so notifythe RDS 250.

Next, the RDS 250 may detect 306 what data to replicate to the RDV 200.For example, the RDS 250 may send segment references to the RDV 200 andreceive, as a response from the RDV 200, respective unique referencesfor each of the segment references. In some embodiments, the RDV 200 maysend 308 to the RDS 250 a list of any data segments not present at theRDV 200. The operation 308 may be performed in response to a query fromthe RDS 250. In this way, the RDS 250 may avoid replicating segments tothe RDV 200 that are already present at the RDV 200 and may, later, sendto the RDV 200 only segments that are not already present at the RDV200.

Next, the RDS 250 may send 310 the replication data, which may then bereceived 312 by the RDV 200. As noted, the replication data that is sent310 may omit any segments that were determined to already exist at theRDV 200. By only sending unique segments at 310, bandwidth may beconserved, and the replication process may proceed relatively morequickly than if all segments were sent by the RDS 250 to the RDV 200.

When the RDV 200 detects that all data has been replicated from the RDS250, the RDV 200 may then switch 314 to the PSP and trigger a pickupprocess. As well, when the RDS 250 has finished sending 310 all thedata, the RDS 250 may switch 316 to a PRP and wait for a checksum valueand a payload from the RDV 200. The operations 314 and 316 may beperformed at the same time, or at about the same time, althoughperformance at any of these times is not necessarily required. Theexample method 300 may use the existing data replication stream betweenthe RDV 200 and the RDS 250 to piggyback the required logs and otherdata from the RDV 200 back to the RDS 250. In this way, the datatransfer between the RDV 200 and RDS 250 may happen only via the allowedport, which may only be available for communications when the airgap isclosed, and within the replication process 302-310 itself.

B.3 Replication Destination Vault (RDV) System—Pickup-Send-Phase (PSP)

With continued reference to FIG. 2 , the PSP may begin with selection318 of a pre-configured set of files in the RDV 200. Thesepre-configured files may include information, data, and metadata,indicating the health or state of the RDV 200. Thus, the pre-configuredfiles may comprise, for example, general system logs, diagnostic logs,health logs, process outputs, and support bundles.

This list of files or directories (full path or directory path) may beconfigured in the RDV 200 and stored persistently and in-memory. In someembodiments, these files may only be files such as type logs, stats,metrics, health state, perf logs, and audit logs. The method 300, andparticularly the operation 318, may implement appropriate filters orvalidators for sensitive directories or files which would not be sentback even if they are requested by the RDS 250.

Continuing with the PSP 314, particularly the operation 318, theselected logs and files may be bundled 318 by/during the PSP314 togetherin a directory and the directory then compressed to create a singlepickup bundle file, which may be a compressed binary file. Thecompression employed at 318 may be any kind of compression algorithmsuch as, for example, ZIP, BZIP2, or LZ, depending upon the availabilityof those compression algorithms in the RDV 200. At 318, a checksum maybe calculated for this compressed file using, for example, MD5, SHA1, orSHA2.

The method 300 may then continue to 320 where the RDV 200 may send thechecksum value, possibly as an array of a fixed number of bytes, andthen send this compressed file 322 back to the waiting RDS 250.

The RDV 200 may then wait for confirmation 322 from the RDS 250 that thecorrect data has been received at the RDV 200. This confirmation may beimplemented through the use of a checksum comparison, as discussed infurther detail below. In general however, the RDV 200 may expect thesame checksum value to be received 324 back from RDS 250 as anacknowledgement that the RDV 200 has received the data correctly thatwas sent 310 by the RDS 250. For example, if the RDS 250 sends back aspecial checksum, such as 0x1111111 for example, that checksum mayindicate that the data was not correctly received 312 at the RDV 200. Inthis case, that is, when there is a checksum mismatch, the RDV 200 maythen resend 326 the same checksum and compressed file one more time.However, the method 300 may provide for a configurable value for thenumber of retries 326.

It is noted that there may be scenarios where no log files areconfigured for pickup in the RDV 200. In that case, the RDV may sendback a special checksum, such as 0x00000000 for example, to the RDS 250indicating that there are no logs to send. In this case, the RDV 200 maythen end the replication process, and open the airgap, without waitingfor any response from the RDS 250.

B.4 Replication Data Source (RDS)—Pickup-Receive-Phase (PRP)

With continued reference to FIG. 2 , further details are provideconcerning various operations of the method 300 that may be performed bythe RDS 250. As noted earlier, the RDV 200 may send 320 a checksum thatwas calculated at 318. This checksum may then be received by the RDS250. It would first receive 328 the checksum value, possibly as anexpected number of bytes. Next, the RDS 250 may receive 330 thecompressed file that was created 318 by the RDV 200. While notspecifically indicated in FIG. 2 , the RDS 250 may send, to the RDV 200,an acknowledgement of receipt of the compressed file. Note that if theRDS 250 receives 328 the special 0x000000 checksum value, that meansthat the RDV 200 is not going to send any log files and, as such, themethod 300 may terminate at this point.

Otherwise, after the RDS 250 has received 330 the compressed file, theRDS 250 may then calculate 332 the checksum of the received compressedfile bytes, and compare the calculated 322 checksum with the checksumreceived 328 earlier from the RDV 200. If the checksums match, then theRDS 250 may proceed to write the compressed file in a pre-configuredlocation, which may hold all such received files from the RDV 200. Aswell, the RDS 250 may also, as part of 322, send back the same checksumvalue as a response to the RDV 200 indicating that all logs from the RDV200 have been received at the RDS 250, and replication can then complete336.

On the other hand, if the checksums do not match, then the RDS 250 maynotify the RDV 200 accordingly, and again wait to receive 334, from theRDV 200, the set of checksum and compressed file one more time. Withregard to the notification of the checksum mismatch, the RDS 250 maysend the 0x111111111, or other kind of special checksum value, toindicate that the data received by the RDV 200 is bad, that is, thatdata is not the same as the data that was sent 310 by the RDS 250. Afterreceiving 328/330 the logs a second time, the RDS 250 may perform thesame checksum check 332 and if the checksums match on this iteration,the RDS 250 may write the compressed file, received 330 from the RDV200, to disk, which may be a local disk at the RDS 250. If there is nochecksum match after ‘n’ iterations (2 in this example case), the RDS250 may log proper error messages and raise alerts/notifications to anadministrator, indicating that a mismatch was identified. At this point,replication may terminate 336.

In the event that the RDV 200 sends the logs, in the compressed file,back to the RDS 250 and receives the confirmation from the RDS 250, theRDV 200 may 327 end the replication, close the port to reinstate theairgap, that is, open the airgap so that no further communication cantake place between the RDS 250 and RDV 200. Note that the operations of327 may also be performed by the RDV 200 when there are no logs to sendback to source.

Note that after the RDS 250 has received the compressed file from theRDV 200, any application or process in the RDS 250 may then process thereceived compressed file from the RDV 200 by decompressing thecompressed file, and then analyze or process the logs and files obtainedfrom the decompressed file. Additionally, or alternatively, to theanalyzing and processing, the RDS 250 may upload the logs/files toanother entity, such as a log server for example.

As will be apparent from the discussion of FIG. 2 , for example, exampleembodiments of the invention may intelligently re-uses an existing datareplication stream for which the airgap has been closed. Morespecifically, such embodiments may transmit logs from a destinationvault using the same data replication stream and session that is beingused by a data source to transmit data to, and communicate with, thedestination vault.

C. Further Discussion

As will be apparent from this disclosure, example embodiments maycomprise a variety of useful aspects and advantages, one example ofwhich is that example embodiments may not require the airgap policies,which may govern the configuration, operation, and/or use, of theairgap, to be relaxed in any manner to allow a new process to passthrough the airgap to send back the logs from the destination to thesource.

As another example, embodiments may intelligently piggyback the relevantlogs/files from the destination and sends those logs/files back to thesource system using the same replication stream that was used by thedestination to receive data from the source.

In another example of aspects of some embodiments, destination systemsthat are generally cut off from the outside world may nonetheless bemonitored in detail with the help of the logs and statistics receivedperiodically from the destination by the source.

In another example, some embodiments may ensure that administrators areable to control what kind of logs would be sent back, from thedestination to the source, by way of a data replication process.

Additionally, example embodiments may operate such that the replicationstreams from the source to the destination cannot be misused. That is,such replication streams may be internally controlled and operated bythe software at the source and/or the destination, and no externalentity can access, or tamper with, the replication stream from outside.

As a final example of aspects of some embodiments, once all the data isreplicated from the source to the destination, the source anddestination may simply automatically switch their respective roles from“sender” (source) and “receiver” (destination) to “receiver” (source)and “sender” (destination) respectively, to transfer the logs/systemdata from the destination to the source. Thus, bidirectional datatransfer may occur over a single replication stream between areplication source and a replication destination. That is, and becausethe same replication stream is being used that was initially used toreplicate data from the source to the destination, it may not bepossible for attackers to tamper with, or impair, the log transfer inany way.

D. Example Methods

It is noted with respect to the example method of FIG. 2 that any of thedisclosed processes, operations, methods, and/or any portion of any ofthese, may be performed in response to, as a result of, and/or, basedupon, the performance of any preceding process(es), methods, and/or,operations. Correspondingly, performance of one or more processes, forexample, may be a predicate or trigger to subsequent performance of oneor more additional processes, operations, and/or methods. Thus, forexample, the various processes that may make up a method may be linkedtogether or otherwise associated with each other by way of relationssuch as the examples just noted. Finally, and while it is not required,the individual processes that make up the various example methodsdisclosed herein are, in some embodiments, performed in the specificsequence recited in those examples. In other embodiments, the individualprocesses that make up a disclosed method may be performed in a sequenceother than the specific sequence recited.

E. Further Example Embodiments

Following are some further example embodiments of the invention. Theseare presented only by way of example and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention in any way.

Embodiment 1. A method, comprising: at a replication data source,initiating a replication process that comprises transmitting areplication stream to a replication destination vault, and data in thereplication stream is transmitted by way of a closed airgap between thereplication data source and the replication destination vault;switching, by the replication data source, from a transmit mode to areceive mode; receiving, at the replication data source, a firstchecksum of a file, and the first checksum and file were created at thereplication destination vault; receiving, at the replication datasource, the file; calculating, at the replication data source, a secondchecksum of the file; and when the second checksum matches the firstchecksum, ending the replication process.

Embodiment 2. The method as recited in embodiment 1, wherein when theairgap is open, the replication data source and the replicationdestination vault cannot communicate data to, or receive data from, eachother.

Embodiment 3. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-2, whereinthe file is a compressed file that includes one or more files, and alsoincludes a log generated by the replication destination vault.

Embodiment 4. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-3, whereinthe first checksum and the file are received at the replication datasource by way of an allowed port that is open temporarily for thereplication process.

Embodiment 5. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-4, whereinwhen the airgap is closed, only the replication process can send orreceive data through the airgap.

Embodiment 6. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-5, whereinreceipt of the first checksum and the file occurs within the replicationprocess.

Embodiment 7. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-6, whereinwhen the second checksum does not match the first checksum, receiving,at the replication data source, the file and the first checksum again.

Embodiment 8. The method as recited in embodiment 1, further comprisingsending, by the replication data source, the second checksum to thereplication destination vault.

Embodiment 9. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-8, whereinthe replication stream is not accessible by entities external to thereplication data source and the replication destination vault.

Embodiment 10. The method as recited in any of embodiments 1-9, whereindata exchange between the replication data source and the replicationdestination vault does not require any change to an airgap policy.

Embodiment 11. A method, comprising: closing, by a replicationdestination vault, an airgap between the replication destination vaultand a replication data source; receiving and storing, at a replicationdestination vault, a replication stream from a replication data source,and data in the replication stream is received at the replicationdestination vault by way of the airgap; switching, by the replicationdestination vault, from a receive mode to a transmit mode; selecting, bythe replication destination vault, one or more files from thereplication stream and compressing the selected files to form acompressed file; calculating a first checksum of the compressed file;sending the first checksum to the replication data source; receiving asecond checksum from the replication data source, and when the firstchecksum matches the second checksum, ending the replication process andopening the airgap.

Embodiment 12. The method as recited in embodiment 11, wherein when theairgap is open, the replication data source and the replicationdestination vault cannot communicate data to, or receive data from, eachother.

Embodiment 13. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-12,wherein the file includes a log generated by the replication destinationvault.

Embodiment 14. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-13,wherein the first checksum and the file are transmitted to thereplication data source by way of an allowed port that is opentemporarily for the replication process.

Embodiment 15. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-14,wherein when the airgap is closed, only the replication process can sendor receive data through the airgap.

Embodiment 16. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-15,whereintransmission of the first checksum and the file occurs within thereplication process.

Embodiment 17. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-16,wherein when the second checksum does not match the first checksum,transmitting, by the replication destination vault, the file and thefirst checksum again.

Embodiment 18. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-17,wherein the airgap is opened by closing an allowed port that was used bythe replication process.

Embodiment 19. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-18,wherein the replication stream is not accessible by entities external tothe replication data source and the replication destination vault.

Embodiment 20. The method as recited in any of embodiments 11-19,wherein data exchange between the replication data source and thereplication destination vault does not require any change to an airgappolicy.

Embodiment 21. A method according to any of embodiments 1-10, furthercomprising: closing, by a replication destination vault, an airgapbetween the replication destination vault and a replication data source;receiving and storing, at a replication destination vault, a replicationstream from a replication data source, and data in the replicationstream is received at the replication destination vault by way of theairgap; switching, by the replication destination vault, from a receivemode to a transmit mode; selecting, by the replication destinationvault, one or more files from the replication stream and compressing theselected files to form a compressed file; calculating a first checksumof the compressed file; sending the first checksum to the replicationdata source; receiving a second checksum from the replication datasource, and when the first checksum matches the second checksum, endingthe replication process and opening the airgap.

Embodiment 22. A method for performing any of the operations, methods,or processes, or any portion of any of these, disclosed herein.

Embodiment 23. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereininstructions that are executable by one or more hardware processors toperform operations comprising the operations of any one or more ofembodiments 1-22.

F. Example Computing Devices and Associated Media

The embodiments disclosed herein may include the use of a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardwareor software modules, as discussed in greater detail below. A computermay include a processor and computer storage media carrying instructionsthat, when executed by the processor and/or caused to be executed by theprocessor, perform any one or more of the methods disclosed herein, orany part(s) of any method disclosed.

As indicated above, embodiments within the scope of the presentinvention also include computer storage media, which are physical mediafor carrying or having computer-executable instructions or datastructures stored thereon. Such computer storage media may be anyavailable physical media that may be accessed by a general purpose orspecial purpose computer.

By way of example, and not limitation, such computer storage media maycomprise hardware storage such as solid state disk/device (SSD), RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, flash memory, phase-change memory (“PCM”), or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other hardware storage devices which may be used tostore program code in the form of computer-executable instructions ordata structures, which may be accessed and executed by a general-purposeor special-purpose computer system to implement the disclosedfunctionality of the invention. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer storage media. Such media are alsoexamples of non-transitory storage media, and non-transitory storagemedia also embraces cloud-based storage systems and structures, althoughthe scope of the invention is not limited to these examples ofnon-transitory storage media.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which, when executed, cause a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform acertain function or group of functions. As such, some embodiments of theinvention may be downloadable to one or more systems or devices, forexample, from a website, mesh topology, or other source. As well, thescope of the invention embraces any hardware system or device thatcomprises an instance of an application that comprises the disclosedexecutable instructions.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts disclosed herein are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

As used herein, the term ‘module’ or ‘component’ may refer to softwareobjects or routines that execute on the computing system. The differentcomponents, modules, engines, and services described herein may beimplemented as objects or processes that execute on the computingsystem, for example, as separate threads. While the system and methodsdescribed herein may be implemented in software, implementations inhardware or a combination of software and hardware are also possible andcontemplated. In the present disclosure, a ‘computing entity’ may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modules running on a computing system.

In at least some instances, a hardware processor is provided that isoperable to carry out executable instructions for performing a method orprocess, such as the methods and processes disclosed herein. Thehardware processor may or may not comprise an element of other hardware,such as the computing devices and systems disclosed herein.

In terms of computing environments, embodiments of the invention may beperformed in client-server environments, whether network or localenvironments, or in any other suitable environment. Suitable operatingenvironments for at least some embodiments of the invention includecloud computing environments where one or more of a client, server, orother machine may reside and operate in a cloud environment.

With reference briefly now to FIG. 3 , any one or more of the entitiesdisclosed, or implied, by FIGS. 1-2 and/or elsewhere herein, may takethe form of, or include, or be implemented on, or hosted by, a physicalcomputing device, one example of which is denoted at 400. As well, whereany of the aforementioned elements comprise or consist of a virtualmachine (VM), that VM may constitute a virtualization of any combinationof the physical components disclosed in FIG. 3 .

In the example of FIG. 3 , the physical computing device 400 includes amemory 402 which may include one, some, or all, of random access memory(RAM), non-volatile memory (NVM) 404 such as NVRAM for example,read-only memory (ROM), and persistent memory, one or more hardwareprocessors 406, non-transitory storage media 408, UI device 410, anddata storage 412. One or more of the memory components 402 of thephysical computing device 400 may take the form of solid state device(SSD) storage. As well, one or more applications 414 may be providedthat comprise instructions executable by one or more hardware processors406 to perform any of the operations, or portions thereof, disclosedherein.

Such executable instructions may take various forms including, forexample, instructions executable to perform any method or portionthereof disclosed herein, and/or executable by/at any of a storage site,whether on-premises at an enterprise, or a cloud computing site, client,datacenter, data protection site including a cloud storage site, orbackup server, to perform any of the functions disclosed herein. Aswell, such instructions may be executable to perform any of the otheroperations and methods, and any portions thereof, disclosed herein.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having storedtherein instructions that are executable by one or more hardwareprocessors to perform operations comprising: at a replication datasource, initiating a replication process that comprises transmitting areplication stream to a replication destination vault, and data in thereplication stream is transmitted by way of an airgap between thereplication data source and the replication destination vault, and theairgap is closed when the data in the replication stream is transmittedbetween the replication data source and the replication destinationvault; switching, by the replication data source, from a transmit modeto a receive mode; receiving, at the replication data source, a firstchecksum of a file, and the first checksum and the file were created atthe replication destination vault; receiving, at the replication datasource, the file; calculating, at the replication data source, a secondchecksum of the file; and when the second checksum matches the firstchecksum, ending the replication process.
 2. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein when the airgapis open, the replication data source and the replication destinationvault cannot communicate data to, or receive data from, each other. 3.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim1, wherein the file is a compressed file that includes one or morefiles, and also includes a log generated by the replication destinationvault.
 4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recitedin claim 1, wherein the first checksum and the file are received at thereplication data source by way of an allowed port that is opentemporarily for the replication process.
 5. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein when the airgapis closed, only the replication process can send or receive data throughthe airgap.
 6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium asrecited in claim 1, wherein receipt of the first checksum and the fileoccurs within the replication process.
 7. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein when the secondchecksum does not match the first checksum, receiving, at thereplication data source, the file and the first checksum again.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise sending, by the replication datasource, the second checksum to the replication destination vault.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1,wherein the replication stream is not accessible by entities external tothe replication data source and the replication destination vault 10.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim1, wherein data exchange between the replication data source and thereplication destination vault does not require any change to an airgappolicy.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingstored therein instructions that are executable by one or more hardwareprocessors to perform operations comprising: closing, by a replicationdestination vault, an airgap between the replication destination vaultand a replication data source; receiving and storing, at a replicationdestination vault, a replication stream from a replication data source,and data in the replication stream is received at the replicationdestination vault by way of the airgap; switching, by the replicationdestination vault, from a receive mode to a transmit mode; selecting, bythe replication destination vault, one or more files from thereplication stream and compressing the selected files to form acompressed file; calculating a first checksum of the compressed file;sending the first checksum to the replication data source; receiving asecond checksum from the replication data source, and when the firstchecksum matches the second checksum, ending the replication process andopening the airgap.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium as recited in claim 11, wherein when the airgap is open, thereplication data source and the replication destination vault cannotcommunicate data to, or receive data from, each other.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 11,wherein the compressed file includes a log generated by the replicationdestination vault.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium as recited in claim 11, wherein the first checksum and thecompressed file are transmitted to the replication data source by way ofan allowed port that is open temporarily for the replication process.15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited inclaim 11, wherein when the airgap is closed, only the replicationprocess can send or receive data through the airgap.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 11,wherein transmission of the first checksum and the compressed fileoccurs within the replication process.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 11, wherein when the secondchecksum does not match the first checksum, transmitting, by thereplication destination vault, the compressed file and the firstchecksum again.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumas recited in claim 11, wherein the airgap is opened by closing anallowed port that was used by the replication process.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 11,wherein the replication stream is not accessible by entities external tothe replication data source and the replication destination vault. 20.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim11, wherein data exchange between the replication data source and thereplication destination vault does not require any change to an airgappolicy.